The Rescuer: One Firefighter’s Story of Courage, Darkness, and the Relentless Love that Saved Him by Jason Sautel with D.R. Jacobsen (TLC Book Tour Review and GIVEWAY!)

 

The Rescuer is an excellent book.  It’s the heartfelt true story of firefighter Jason Sautel.  Sautel had a troubled life growing up but had found his place in the world as an Oakland firefighter.  He loves his firefighter family, but he has an emptiness in his heart.  Not having faith, and being basically alone without his biological family, Sautel knows that he needs to find help to fill this emptiness.  In a romantic twist, Sautel meets the love of his life and starts to fill the void inside of himself.

 I couldn’t stop reading this book.  Sautel describes a vivid picture of heart pounding action as a firefighter and EMT.  He has to deal with a lot of terrible situations and the loss of people that he is trying to save.  He deals with it, by not dealing with it, which causes problems. I like that he was very straightforward in this book about his past and his feelings.  I felt really sad for him and for all other children that grow up neglected.  It reinforced my thoughts on volunteering - you don’t know when you will be the light that a young person needs.   

 One item that really struck me was when Sautel tried to go to church in his best khaki shorts and t-shirt and the ushers wouldn’t let him in as he wasn’t dressed properly.  This really, really disturbed me.  How can Christians do that?   My church in Northeast Wisconsin has a wide variety of dress (including Packer gear on game day) and I can’t imagine someone being kicked out for the way they dress. Some churches are definitely more welcoming than others, and it is something to think about as a church.  In one of the best homilies I ever heard, a priest talked about who Jesus would welcome at church and how we should be welcoming to ALL people.  The message has resonated with me for the past fifteen years, and it sounds like one that Sautel’s church needed to hear.

 I loved the love story between Jason and Kristie at the end of the book as well as how Jason found his faith. I am ready for a book two however, I really didn’t want this book to end.  It was a true gem of a book.  I’m passing it on to my husband now to read.

 Favorite Quotes:

 “When a structure is on fire, you can see the danger and plan a way to fight it . . . but when a soul is on fire?  How can a rescuer prevent a life from burning down?”

 “As always, I was locked in a pit of pain with no way to call for rescue.”

 Overall, The Rescuer is a look into the thrilling and heartbreaking world of a first responder, and how he was able to find love and faith to save himself.

 Book Source:  Review Copy from Thomas Nelson for being a part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you!  For more stops on the tour, check out this link.

 

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Connect with Jason

Website | Facebook | Twitter

 GIVEAWAY
As a part of the TLC Blog Tour, I am giving away one copy of this memoir. If you would like to win this book, please leave a comment on what interests you about this book.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a Monte Carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to addresses in the United States and Canada.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday October 2nd!

Please make sure to check the week of October 5th to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner, but lately I've been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

Good luck!